7 smart and sassy crime fiction writers dish on writing and life.
It's The View. With bodies.

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

ANN CLEEVES Visits the Reds!

LUCY BURDETTE: Reds, I cannot tell you how excited I am to introduce today's guest. Ann Cleeves is the author of 8 Jimmy Perez Shetland books, plus eight Vera Stanhope novels, among others. She has a new series debuting next month with A LONG CALL. She won the CWA dagger award for Raven Black, and has had two series developed for television. Ann, we are rabid fans of your work and so very happy to have you here!

LUCY: I am a huge fan of the Shetland series and just finished Raven Black, which I read after all the others. Jimmy Perez’s life changed so much over the course of his series. How much of that arc had you imagined when you were writing Raven Black?

ANN: I didn’t have any of the story arc planned when I was writing Raven Black.I thought it would be a single, stand-alone novel.The theme of the book is about belonging and the outsider, kindness and inclusion.That’s why Jimmy Perez is such a contradiction; he belongs, but not quite.He’s a Shetlander, but he comes from Fair Isle, the most remote inhabited island in the group and a place most Shetlanders have never visited.His family has lived in the islands for generations, but he has a Spanish name and a Mediterranean appearance.When she first read the book, my editor was clear that it would be a stand-alone novel – it would stretch credibility to have more than one murder in a place with a population of just 23,000 – then it sold more copies than anything else I’d written and we agreed it would run to a short series.Wild Fire, recently published in the US in paperback, is the eighth and last.

LUCY: I’m sad about the series ending with Wild Fire though I won’t argue with your decision! I would love to hear what went into the decision to let Jimmy and Willow go off without a bunch of readers watching their every move?

ANN: I knew that Wild Fire would be the last book, though I’m hoping that there might be more TV series.I never plot in advance, so when I started writing, there was even a possibility that I would kill Jimmy Perez!I understood a little about Willow’s situation, because that was fore-shadowed in the previous book, Cold Earth.I wanted an ending that would be a little ambiguous, and would mark a new beginning in the lives of both central characters.

LUCY: Now Vera...she seems to experience less internal growth than Jimmy--maybe this is because she doesn't experience the dramatic life events that Jimmy Perez did. Was this an intentional choice?

ANN: I think Vera’s character was formed early in the events of childhood, and though we learn more about that during the books, back story is harder to do in the TV drama.I think the scriptwriter did a great job of explaining her past in the adaptation of The Seagull.Vera grew up without a mother, raised by a father grieving for the woman he adored and resenting the burden of a child, especially a daughter.By the time we meet her, you’re right, she knows who she is and what she needs: her work, her team and her house in the hills.Definitely not a man!When we meet Jimmy Perez, he’s on the brink of a new life back in Shetland, and we travel with him through the good times and the bad.

LUCY: You use multiple points of view and seem to know many characters very well. How do you choose which character tells which part of the story?

ANN: I love writing from multiple view points.The joy of writing is to see the world through another person’s eyes – and that’s the joy of reading too of course.Again, the choice of POV is instinctive.The returning characters always get a voice, and then I choose one or two others to help tell the story.They grow in the writing and aren’t very much planned in advance.

LUCY: Some of the Reds have managed to snag an advance copy of the new book but I and many others are waiting until September. Can you give us a little preview of what’s coming?

ANN: In The Long Call, I return to my home county of North Devon.I had a wonderfully happy childhood there and still have friends living in the largest town, Barnstaple. It’s an interesting region, beautiful, but quite isolated.It pulls in holiday makers, but also transient seasonal workers, drifters, and there’s a lot of rural poverty.My new series character Matthew Venn grew up in a fictional enclosed, rather blinkered religious community called the Barum Brethren.When he lost his faith, his world crumbled and he found order again by becoming a police officer.The book starts with him standing outside the chapel where his father’s funeral service is taking place, feeling unable to join in.Then of course, he gets the call that a body has been found…

LUCY: Who has inspired your work, and along that same line, what do you like to read?

ANN: My reading passion is crime fiction in translation.I love the sense of vicarious travel.I believe we have a sense of a culture’s preoccupations when we read its popular fiction and that at a time when we seem pulled to extremes, we need that insight and understanding.

Ann, thanks so very much for taking the time to answer our questions. Reds, Ann will be stopping by to answer questions and comments, if Blogger cooperates! And you can read more about Ann and her books on her website and twitter and facebook, and buy her books wherever books are sold.

Welcome, Ann. We are so excited for you be our Guest of Honor at the New England Crime Bake this fall! I have yet to write in multiple points of view, but you're a master at it. How hard is it to weave in the what happens to each POV character with the timeline of the book, since different things happen to each person?

And I'm very excited to be there. I've only written one first person novel and all the others have multiple points of view. I love that sense of getting inside another person's head. Sometimes timing is a little bit tricky, but usually I choose the character best fitted to continue the story at the time. There's never any planning involved!

How exciting to have you here today, Ann. You've been a favorite of mine since RAVEN BLACK, and, along with the rest of the free world, I adore Jimmy Perez. So I was so very sad when I saw you a couple of years ago and you told me you were retiring the series. As I recall, you referred to this as leaving Shetland while we all wanted more! Paraphrased, but you get the gist.

I look forward to meeting Matthew Venn and visiting Devon. October can't come soon enough. I wish we would attend the New England Crime Bake, but we'll be in Dallas for Bouchercon the week before and just can't make another trip so soon.

I do have a question. In WILD FIRE, the final scene, there is a young woman in the background, on the ferry, headed to Shetland. She is perhaps nineteen, but you don't tell us much else about her. I think I recognize her. Am I right? I thought it was the most touching Easter egg ever.

So glad to see you at Reds, Ann. I have so enjoyed all your books and look forward to this newest one -- especially since it features the area around Barnstaple, which I believe is the namesake for the town I grew up in: Barnstable, Massachusetts!

Hi again, Ann. We're going to be dancing with excitement all day about your visit! One more question from me: In the Jimmy Perez series, Shetland itself is a major character. How much time had you spent there before beginning to write about it? And did you make return visits over the course of the series?

I first went to Shetland more than forty years ago - to be assistant cook in the bird observatory in Fair Isle - and I've been visiting ever since. I usually go about three times a year and was there for a wedding a couple of months ago.

Ann, in a world that's so hard right now, your books are my nighttime comfort. I'm so happy you have a new series. I appreciate your belief in the possibility that most humans struggle to be forces for good, and your compassion when they cannot. As a nature writer myself, I love how you give place and weather equal footing with human characters. One question: do you write "in place"? Thank you so much for your work, Ann.

Thanks Susan. I write the Vera books 'in place' because I live in Northumberland, where that series is set. I'm a regular visitor to Shetland and I spent my formative teenage years in North Devon. I'm delighted that The Long Call has been optioned for TV by the same production company that makes Shetland and Vera. If all goes well, viewers all over the world will see that beautiful part of the west country.

I was fortunate to get to read an ARC of "The Long Call" and I loved it. Your fans are in for a real treat with this new character, setting, and series! I grew up in the Missouri Ozarks, where insular, very conservative religious groups are fairly common, and I was fascinated by their presence in the UK. I liked the way you balanced the very real emotional conflicts of the people who break those bonds and step away from the confines of the church to live in the outside world. Good job! I hope you find huge success with this one.

I have a "how does she do it?" shelf of books, and constantly pull yours off when I'm struggling with POV. I'm excited to meet your new character and setting and read along as you grow a new fictional world. I wonder how much North Devon has changed since your childhood, or are the important elements the same? (language idioms, food, music).

It's such a thrill to have you here at Jungle Reds, Ann. Lucy gave us great clues yesterday that you would be here. Congratulations on all your well deserved success.

I'm so excited about your new series set in Devon. My family, the Boones (the branch from whom Daniel hails) has been traced back to the 1700s in the area of Stoke Canon, near Exeter. I am trying to get to England in the next year or so to visit Devon, where my ancestors dwelled.

Forgive my shaky geographical knowledge (my geography-teacher father is rolling in his ashes...). I realized I didn't know where Devon was and just went to a map. SO many Massachusetts and New England place names! Especially Truro, Falmouth, Plymouth, Barnstaple, Weymouth, Taunton, all on or near Cape Cod. Thank you, Kathy and Ann, for prompting me to refresh my knowledge.

Ann, thanks for the train tip. I don't know how I could resist it from your description of "the little, rattling train." Hahaha! I do want to visit so many places in Devon, including the coast and Greenway. The reasons I most want to visit England are to visit Devon and Cornwall, not London, although there are definitely places in London I don't want to miss (I can thank Debs for most of those places). Lucy, do let me know what you find out, and just say the word, and we are off to Devon. Edith, as Cape Cod is one of my favorite settings for fiction in the U.S., Devon is one of my favorite settings in the UK.

That's an interesting question! I think the region has become smarter. There are more up-market restaurants, artisan shops and good hotels. More arty people have moved in from outside. But there's a still rural poverty and it still feels on the margins.

I love your work and have read all your books, including the early ones. The humanity of your characters makes them stand out, as does your ability to transport the reader to Northumberland, or Shetland (and now Devon). I'm looking forward to meeting Matthew Venn and his compatriots soon. Also very much looking forward to meeting you at Crime Bake this November.

Ann, aside from your brilliant writing, plotting, and character development, thank you for helping other armchair travelers like myself to know the worlds of both Jimmy and Vera. I have briefly visited Vera's stomping grounds (around Dunham, and Newcastle upon Tyne), but the Shetlands would never have been on my travel radar without your books.

My friend who is from that area has an accent that is more Scottish than British, to my ears. Is that because Northumberland is closer to Scotland? Vera's accent, as opposed to Brenda Blethyn's actual one, also seems to have more of a burr, as do some of the other characters. This fascinates me almost as much as the stories do!

There are many different accents in the north east of England - when we first moved there in the mid-eighties, each village seemed to have its own voice. Vera's accent is rural Northumberland and as you say it's very gentle.

Good morning Ann. I love your writing! I was introduced to your work through the two television series, Vera and then Shetland. I have been working my way through your books and I can't tell you how happy I am that you're gifting us with yet another series. P.S. Thank you for not killing off Jimmy.

I’m positively giddy! I’m a huge fan and looking forward to meeting you at Crime Bake! And I confess I feel as if I know Vera. What a gift you’ve given to lovers of crime fiction with that character. I assume you were onboard with the casting of the tv show— were you consulted??

Hi Hallie. I can't wait to meet you too. No, I wasn't consulted about casting - I feel it's right to let the production team do what they do best. They know what makes good television and I don't. But when they found double Oscar nominee Brenda to bring my character to life, of course I was delighted. The same team has optioned The Long Call and I'm looking forward to what happens with that. They put together a great creative proposal.

Hi Ann, Welcome. I am one of the fortunate few who received an ARC of The Long Haul. I usually read quickly, but your writing slowed me to be able to savor every word. Now Devon is not just home to And then There were None and other Christie gems.

I love to ask authors how they choose names. Matthew's last name is Venn. As I am sure you know, a Venn diagram shows logical relationships between sets of things. Did this mathematical concept play into your decision for Matthew?

Matthew's world view is inspiring. May he have many more adventures. Thank you for visiting today. Best wishes.

Thanks Coralee. My first choice for Matthew's name was Shapland, a very North Devon name, but my editor thought it was too like Shetland. There's a Venn quarry quite close to Barnstaple, so it had a local resonance too. I didn't think about the diagram until later...

I came to your wonderful novels by way of your two series on Brit Box, Ann. This week I began reading Blue Lightning in the Shetland series and I'm struck by how many ways the details differ in your book from the two TV episodes. Can you give any backstory on that please? How much input do you have on the television casting and plotting, if any?

Hi kk. I don't have any control over casting or plotting, but I wouldn't want any. I love the joy of creating my own stories and characters and I think the brilliant creatives who work for the TV production company should have that freedom too.

Hi there! I'm not officially involved in the adaptation at all, but Brenda has become a friend - she came with me to Malice Domestic a couple of years ago - and she always reads the books. It is very much like having a representative on set.

More than any other author, Ann Cleeves has sort of been my "guiding force" though my crime fiction journey. I "discovered" her at my first Bouchercon in Baltimore, quickly devouring everything she has written. Then I was lucky enough to interview her at the still-missed Festival of Mystery in Oakmount, PA (Mystery Lovers Bookshop.) From there, it was always my greatest delight to see her at the various mystery conventions each year. And this year, I will be in attendance at New England Crime Bake (rather than Bouchercon) mainly because I couldn't miss the opportunity to celebrate Ann once again.

I hold each of her novels so close to my heart. In particular, the original Shetland Quartet is probably the single most perfect, complete string of novels I can imagine. And Vera has become such a friend and confidant for me over the years, though the books and through Brenda's incredible performances on TV.

I am fortunate to have read THE LONG CALL, and I can tell you that readers are in for a huge treat. Matthew Venn is so special and I immediately felt a real kinship with him - for several reasons. My review of the book will be up next week, but trust me, just order it right now. You won't be sorry.

Kris, this is such a kind post. You were one of the first people to interview me in the US and you've been a terrific supporter since that time. For a number of reasons I was anxious about what you'd make of The Long Call. It was important to me not to hit the wrong note. You don't know what a relief this is!

Hi Ann! It is so wonderful to have you here! Count me among the legions of fans, and having read The Long Call, I know your readers are going to be delighted. Like Coralee, I read slowly, to savor the writing, and then I raved about the book for weeks afterwards, as my friends can testify! I'm so excited to know there is a TV option for Matthew.

As I also write in multiple viewpoints, I found it very interesting to hear how you go about it. Half the fun of a book for me is discovering the minor viewpoint characters.

Hi Debs and thanks for your endorsement, which made a huge difference. It's so nerve-wracking bringing a new character to loyal readers. I'm so desperate not to disappoint them. So having fellow writers say they enjoyed it is pretty awesome.

Hi Rhys. I decided from the first option that I didn't want to interfere. Because I don't know anything about making good TV, it seemed sensible to leave it to the experts. And for me, that was the right decision. Silverprint, the company which makes Vera for ITV and Shetland for BBC (and has optioned The Long Call) seems able to capture the essence of the book, the characters and the place. That's more important to me than details of plotting.

Hi Ann, and thank you for coming to Jungle Reds! I've been positively giddy since learning yesterday that you would be here. Then "day job" activities prevented me from getting here as early as I would like.

Like some others here, I met your work first in the TV adaptations, but have since gone back and started reading my way through the novels. That's probably a blessing in disguise, I think, because I generally find it hard to appreciate a screen adaptation of a book I already know and love. I find it somehow easier to transition in the other direction. Books are almost always full of a lot more detail, and it is easier, emotionally, to add that than to subtract it.

I have not had the luxury of an ARC for The Long Call, so I am eagerly awaiting its release!

So here's my Ann Cleeves anecdote: I had heard of the TV series when they came out on PBS here in the statea, but didn't really know anything about the books, other than the fact I kept wanting to spell her name Anne Cleves (probably a lifelong trial for her.)

Then the Very Small Library I volunteer at got the entire Shetland and Vera series, and hoo boy, did I finally understand the phenomena that is Ann Cleeves. We couldn't keep those novels on the shelves. We had waiting lists, which in a library that serves a population the size of one of Ann's small Shetland towns, was quite a thing. Patrons would stand around discussing Jimmy Perez and Vera Stanhope like they were their neighbors. I think living in a remote, rural state - Maine - full of remote, rural towns, the Shetland Islands and northern England resonate with us (as well as with half the rest of the English speaking world, apparently!)

I have read all of the Vera Stanhope mysteries and Raven Black as well, but I definitely have some catching up to do with Jimmy Perez. Thank you for visiting Jungle Reds, Ann, and I look forward to reading The Long Call.

Ann! I would try to rein in my over-the-top American effusiveness, but how can I when it’s YOU and Vera and Jimmy?!? And now Matthew Venn, whom I’m dying to meet. You are not only one of my favorite authors, but also one of my role models. As I try to inhabit my new role as mystery author with a similar grace and generosity, what tips can you give me? When we first met, you told me that you’d been writing for a long time. So your success certainly has not come out of nowhere overnight. How has your Ann-as-Author sensibility changed over the years?

I hope not! Writing is still the joy and the rest is an added bonus. The friends who supported me when I was a mid-list (ie bottom of the heap) author are still my friends and if I can support them now that's brilliant.

Ann Cleeves, welcome to Jungle Reds! I was fortunate to get an advanced copy of The Long Call from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. It was wonderful!!! I was surprised that they still have Puritans in England. I thought the King threw them out of England and they came on the Mayflower to America. The characters are really interesting people!

My mother lived with me for a few years after some health issues and one of our favorite things was to watch VERA. Mom still laughs when she imitates Vera answering the phone yelling "What!?"

Ann, having read all the Vera and Shetland novels, I started reading your earlier novels, many of which are available in the US as ebooks. Any chance that "The Healers" (book 5 in the Inspector Ramsay series) will be available as an ebook...the others in that series, including the 6th book, already are. Same question with your stand-alones, "The Sleeping and The Dead" and "Burial of Ghosts?"

I'm eagerly waiting to read "The Long Call!" Thank you, Ann, for so many great reads!

It's wonderful that you're visiting here today! I was totally in love with Jimmy and agonized over all his travails. What a lovely character. And such twisty, convoluted cases that landed in his jurisdiction. I was lucky enough to read an ARC of The Long Call and look forward to another satisfying relationship. Matthew is such a strong, vulnerable person with a lot of baggage. And a smart copper to boot! I'm looking forward to many, many Matthew Venn stories.

Hi Ann, I suspect that you have been a big influence on the UK tourism trade because of your books and their TV adaptations. The Shetland series has brought out a latent Scottish gene in me, I'm sure, as I feel at "home" when reading and watching "Shetland". Even though my husband's tree is the palm tree, which means it's warm, he's agreed that we can go to Scotland next summer. Yippee! Looking forward to meeting your new man.

What a delightful interview, Ann. I have read so much about the Shetland Islands (I'm a Fair Isle knitter) and even read a charming article about you in Vogue Knitting! I love how you bring this region to life in your books. I'm a huge fan of both Jimmy and Vera and am ecstatic to read about your new series in Devon. Thank you so much for visiting today!

A lot of fun and very interesting interview! I wish I'd been here on time, but being late saved me from being embarrassed while bowing and scraping. My father loved the Shetlands, so I've always wanted to go there.

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